Fighting coronavirus: Hiring in UAE could pick up after September, say consultants

Majority of companies in the UAE will be adopting wait-and-watch approach for new recruitment, however the activity could pick up after the summer, say consultants.
"As organisations will look to hire post-summer from September, the flexible transfers do help but in vast majority of the cases, entities are going to 'wait and watch' before normal hiring activity starts," according to Vijay Gandhi, regional director, Korn Ferry.
He noted that more jobs have been advertised and recruitment activity is picking up. However, the decision to hire is taking longer and job creation is taking 4-6 weeks from interview selection compared to 4-6 days in the past due to changes in work culture due to coronavirus Covid-19.
The new normalcy is returning in the country with economy opening up and firms going back to work 100 per cent. However, the full impact of jobs will be visible during the summer, depending on the recovery to the new normal.
"We are seeing hiring activity in both routine jobs - such as drivers, logistics co-ordinators etc. - and professional roles - such as procurement, operations, learning and development etc. - in healthcare and e-commerce sectors," he added.
Recruitment consultants say that employers should keep an eye for good talent and have the talent acquisition team actively looking for good profiles.
Akram Assaf, Chief Technology Officer, Bayt.com, has said that a large number of firms would be hit by coronavirus but he singled out Internet/e-commerce, distribution/logistics and software development which has good potential to grow.